Kirby Smart raves about five-star signee Justin Williams, importance of size on defense

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs have been taking care of business on National Signing Day, boasting the nation’s No. 1 high school signing class so far in 2024 according to On3’s Industry Ranking Football Team Recruiting Rankings.

As always, a premium has been placed on the defense in Athens, with 12 of their current signees residing on the defense side of the ball.

Nine of those 12 defensive signees play on the front seven, including five-star linebacker Justin Williams. And when Smart made an SEC Network appearance on National Signing Day, he spoke about the importance of bolstering up his defensive front.

“Yeah the front guys is the biggest thing, we wanted to add some depth and develop big guys,” Smart said. “There’s no substitute for size on the defensive front, especially in our conference, so getting some large people is helpful and if you’re gonna cover up the speed of Justin Williams you gotta have big guys up front.”

In four of the last five seasons, the Bulldogs have boasted one of the nation’s top three rushing defenses, along with a top 10 scoring defense in the country the last three seasons. Their strong, fast, and physical front seven has had a large part to do with that success, and in the midst of National Signing Day, they’ve seemingly only improved in those areas.

Thee of the Bulldogs’ six defensive linemen in the 2024 signing class weigh 300 pounds or more, providing size that could potentially earn them playing time early in their careers. That paired with Williams, who’s ranked the No. 1 linebacker and the No. 8 overall player in the 2024 recruiting cycle according to On3’s Industry Ranking, could give Georgia all the pieces they need to maintain their defensive excellence.

“So he’s already here too, he’s fast, he shows up, twitchy,” Smart said about Williams. “All the kids are like who is that guy? Because he’s out there at practice and he’s been helping on special teams and you see what you see there on tape. Closing speed, length, and really high character. This kid is one of the smartest kids, I think he had the highest GPA in our class, above a 4.0. Fun to be around.”

Williams is the Bulldogs’ second-highest-rated signee of the 2024 class behind cornerback Ellis Robinson IV , who’s also the No. 1 rated player at his position, as the rich continue to get richer in Athens on the defensive side of the football.